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30-06 perfect hunting caliber

12K views 146 replies 41 participants last post by  BillM 
#1 ·
For game not birds
 
#127 ·
As the OP originally asked, is the .30-06 the perfect hunting caliber ? I say NO, but I will say that the .30-03 has fostered more rounds than any other, & those being the .30-06 Springfield, the .25-06 Remington, .270 Winchester, .338-06 A-Square, .35 Whelen, .375 Whelen, & so forth & so on, some that even the ballistic benefit make it all but useless. Some 15+ cartridges sprung from the old .30-03/.30-06..............
I wasn't even going to go there with the .30-03, but I'm glad someone did. :D
 
#132 · (Edited)
8x57 is a very different cartridge from the 30-03 even from the 30-06 . but it is larger and slower than the 308 !! and it is is a 32 cal.
OK, back in the way back day you had a big arms race. Of the larger countries, Germany held the cards. Although the French actually developed the spitzer for the Berthier, The Germans made it standard w/ the 8x57 and the 1898 rifle. After the Spanish American war and getting their @sses handed to them by and inferior numbered force, The U.S. went on a quest for a better rifle and cartridge. Here came the 1903 Springfield that was patterned so close to the '98, the U.S. had to pay patent infringement penalties till WWI. The 8x57 and .30-06 do share a case that is eqaul in every respect except length(volume). Why? because the Germans had already figured out double based powder, while here in the U.S. we were just coming out of the Black powder age. Slower then a .308 cartridge? You need a serious education. I can easily get a 150gr to 2900fps. I can also get a 180gr to 2700fps without trying. 200gr at 2700fps is normal. .308 vs .323, 15 hundreths of an inch. It is were all modern cartridges started.
Sorry friend, 8x57 or 7.62x63, father and son. I have 196gr 8x57 surplus ammo that breaks 2900fps.
 
#133 ·
30.06 is a great caliber. I have taken many deer with it. Even took a 6X6 Elk in Montana with my Win. 70, 30.06.
But for Elk and Bear, I switched to Colt Sauer 300 Weatherby mag. Why, you may ask, well I shot my first elk with 30.06 at about 150 yards standing broadside to me. I put three rounds in the death spot and that sucker still walked about another 100 yds before going down. My next 6X6 Elk was taken with the Colt Sauer 300. Weatherby mag. One shot at little over 300 yards and it when down on the spot. The Bear that I took with the Colt Sauer was a scary story!! Over the years, I have taken whitetail and mulies with 30.30, 308, 35, 30.06 and 12 gauge slug. All of them get the job done if you make a good shot. Shoot what works best for you.
 
#136 ·
jpatternsonnh You can listen to what ever you want to tell your self. Your thinking would tend to make it the 7.92x57 the parent cartridge to a every cartridge ever made . WOOOW you are a genius. This is NOT about a rifle ether. Its about a parent case to the 30-06 and the 7.92x 57 is not it. Its just another bottle neck cartridge in the same time frame and not even the first with double based powder just the first military to bring it to service in large volume. People in the usa, britian and a couple other counties had also been testing it for a couple years but slow to react as so often happens. Also using the powder of the day the 8mm was slower than the 30-06 in there early days . And if what you can push it today with modern powders impress's you , be happy.
 
#137 · (Edited)
jpatternsonnh You can listen to what ever you want to tell your self. Your thinking would tend to make it the 7.92x57 the parent cartridge to a every cartridge ever made . WOOOW you are a genius. This is NOT about a rifle ether. Its about a parent case to the 30-06 and the 7.92x 57 is not it. Its just another bottle neck cartridge in the same time frame and not even the first with double based powder just the first military to bring it to service in large volume. People in the usa, britian and a couple other counties had also been testing it for a couple years but slow to react as so often happens. Also using the powder of the day the 8mm was slower than the 30-06 in there early days . And if what you can push it today with modern powders impress's you , be happy.
Bud, I never listen to what I want to tell myself! Not sure what that means.... or pretty much anything you typed. Must have been a he!! of a bender.
I'll post the specs for both, you don't need to agree or disagree, just speak ENGLISH! Spanish if you like. I still shoot 1930's German and 1940's Turk ammo. Awesome stuff.





One He!! of a coincidence that they are within thousands of an inch. But hey, I think our Commie and chief is a traitor, I'm just delusional.

The fact That I can make 8x57, 9.3x57, out of .30-06 brass does say something. I can also make .308 brass out of 8x57. Things that make you go Hmmm. Thank you for the Genius comment, my Dad would be proud!!
 
#138 ·
Sorry for the hijack. The .30-06 is a very good cartridge. It does many things well. It is very versitile. I'm not sure you can ever have enough gun while hunting. Some may think it is over powered for certain game. If it harvests them, it was the right tool for the job.
 
#139 ·
With a 165gn GameKing out of my 30/06AI I can get 2945fps and using 150gn Hornady SP's I was getting over 3000fps(3150fps seems to ring a bell) but that was a fair while ago.

Now there's no such thing as a perfect all round cartridge but there is such a thing as a all round useful cartridge for specific sized game and the 30/06 fills this quite well in terms of projectile selection from 110gn up to 220gn which allows you to shoot rabbits up to in the case of here in Australia buffalo(not really recommended but..) and so out of the .270,.308 and 30/06 everything is equal until you start going above 165gn and then the 30/06 comes into it's own.

You can use it on game up to the size of bears in Northern America and plains game in South Africa, pigs,goats deer, camels and buffalo in Australia, pigs,sheep and deer in Europe so it's a good round in that fact.

Yes the bigger 7mm and 8mm rounds will do the same but this is about the 30/06(7.62x 63) and I could also throw in the venerable old .303 as well using 150gn and 180gn projectiles(another 7mm) which does it's fair bit of dropping pigs and goats here in Australia.
 
#141 ·
I never particularly cared for the 30-06. After getting a .270 Win and seeing how capable it is I will never buy another hunting rifle that is not .270 Win. Flat shooting with enough power for anything you will hunt in the lower 48.
 
#144 ·
As well as the 30-03 which I had never heard of until researching the .270
30 caliber that came out in 1903 for the 1903 Springfield rifle. metric measurements were 7.62x65mm. used a 220 gr. rounded bullet. they redesigned it to 7.62x63, went to a lighter 168 gr. bullet and the 30-06 was born in 1906. they rechambered most of the 1903 rifles to 30-06. that's why a 30-03 Springfield rifle is rare today.

the true parent cartridge case for the 270 win. was the 30-03. the case length is 64.5mm instead of the 63mm for the 30-06.
 
#145 ·
303tom And the 6.5x55 is a great hunting round still today and a favored long range cartridge.

When my dad was in the army and was stationed in Hawaii at schofield barracks in the mid '30's. They rode mules during training in the mountians and shot what my dad said was 30 cal goverment . Guess they still had some of the original 30-03 ammo there to shoot up. No internet around for years so I has no idea what a 30cal goverment was back in the late 60's.
 
#146 ·
303tom And the 6.5x55 is a great hunting round still today and a favored long range cartridge.

When my dad was in the army and was stationed in Hawaii at schofield barracks in the mid '30's. They rode mules during training in the mountians and shot what my dad said was 30 cal goverment . Guess they still had some of the original 30-03 ammo there to shoot up. No internet around for years so I has no idea what a 30cal goverment was back in the late 60's.
The .30 caliber government is AKA the .30-40 Krag.................
 
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